In typical remote vehicle operation, the operator controls the vehicle using a process known as tele-operation. Conventional remote vehicle tele-operation involves the use of operator control consoles, most commonly having joysticks, trackballs, mouse-type input devices, or some arrangement of physical switches and/or potentiometers and similar manual actuation input devices.
The electromechanical complexity of many remote vehicles has consequently made the manual control of such vehicles complex for human operators in a tele-operation process, requiring many function-specific knobs, joysticks and buttons to perform a task. A significant amount of operator training and experience can be required to develop sufficient manual dexterity and skill to be able to accurately navigate and control a remote vehicle.
It is therefore advantageous to provide a method and device that allow remote vehicles to accomplish certain behaviors autonomously, either continuously or upon user commands.